Machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers

ABSTRACT

A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers comprising a casing with an inner wall, a plurality of elastic fingertips disposed in a somewhat arcuate path along said inner wall, a stationary arcuate depression section along said inner wall, and a movable arcuate pressure member in said casing disposed to act on said fingertips so that they are compressed and allowed to expand alternately by a rhythmic reciprocating motion of said movable arcuate depression toward and away from said stationary arcuate depression.

United States Patent [191 Kobayashi 1 March 6, 1973- MACHINE FOR RELIEVING THE FATIGUE OF FINGERS [76] Inventor: Tadashi Kohayashi, 1 560-2 Higashihara, Tenma, Shizuoka, Japan [22] Filed: Oct. 28, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 193,341

[52] US. Cl ..128/26 [51] Int. Cl. ..A6lh 1/02 [58] Field of Search 128/26, 59-61 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,644,446 7/1953 Viniegra ..128/26 X 3,654,917 4/1972 Dienner ..l28/26 Primary ExaminerLawrence W. Trapp Attamey-George B. Oujevolk [5 7] ABSTRACT A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers comprising a casing with an inner wall, a plurality of elastic fingertips disposed in a somewhat arcuate path along said inner wall, a stationary arcuate depression section along said inner wall, and a movable arcuate pressure member in said casing disposed to act on said fingertips so that they are compressed and allowed to expand alternately by a rhythmic reciprocating motion of said movable arcuate depression toward and away from said stationary arcuate depression.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 11/1965 Houle ..128/26 PATENTEDMR @1915 3,719,184

SHEET 10F a 20l9 I3 E53|8 212 2 6 I I I TADASHI KOBAYASHI INVENT OR BY GEORGE B OUJEVOLK ATTORNEY PATENTEDHAR 61m 37.19.1821 SHEET 2 BF 4 TADASHI KOBAYASHI INVENTOR BY GEORGE B OUJEVOLK ATTORNEY PATENTEUIMR 61m 3,719,184 SHEET 30F 4 TADASHI KOBAYASHI INVENI' OR BY GEORGE B. OUJEVOLK ATTORNEY PATENTEDHAR 61m 3,719,184

SHEET Q UF 4 TADASHI KOBAYASHI INV ENT OR BY GEORGE B. OUJEVOLK ATTORNEY MACHINE FOR RELIEYING THE FATIGUE OF FINGERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Recently, more and more key punchers, typists, and

users of ball-point pens and other hard writing instruments for copying purposes complain of fatigue or pain in the fingers, which, if left unrelieved, gradually spreads to the arms, shoulders, and back, until the pain affects the whole body, and often compels the victim to give up his or her occupation. Such fatigue in the fingers may be considered an occupational disease in modern industry, for which preventive or remedial steps must be taken without delay.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to provide a machine for relieving such fatigue in the fingers and prevent fatigue from affecting the body generally.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a machine which is relatively simple in structure, easy of operation, and durable in service.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a part vertical section and part elevation of a machine representing a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross section of said machine taken at [-1 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is the plan view of said machine;

FIG. 4 is the elevation of an eccentric cam used in said machine;

FIG. 5 is the plan view of said eccentric cam; and

FIG. 6 is a vertical section of a fingertip used in said machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The machine contemplated herein has a cylindrical casing 1. The space inside said casing l is divided by a partition 2 into an upper chamber 3 and a lower chamber 4. Upper chamber 3 is equipped with a cover 5. Fingertips 6, into which the user's fingers are to be inserted, are provided in the machine through holes in said cover 5, and set with the tip edges kept in contact with said cover 5 whereas the lower ends are left free.

An arcuate depression 7 is provided on the inner wall of the casing l in the upper chamber 3 outside each fingertip so that a part of the outer circumference of the fingertip 6 confronts the surface of the arcuatedepression 7.

Each fingertip 6 is somewhattapered so thatthe relationship of its inside diameter 6 at the top and its inside diameter 6" at the lower end is as shown in FIG. 6, i.e., a little smaller at the lower end. Said fingertips 6 area" made of an elastic material, such as rubber, and located conveniently in the machine for the simultaneous insertion of all five fingers. Specifically, in FIGS, the position 12 for the insertion of the thumb is spacedmore widely from the adjacent fingertip positions than the other fingertip positions 8 to 11. These fingertips 6 are prepared in a number of sizes with different inside diameters so that each particular user can select the right size for his fingers.

Numeral 13 refers to an eccentric cam with an eccentricity E to the center of a pivot 14, which has a shaft hole 15 at its center. The rotary shaft 17 of a motor 16 installed in the lower chamber 4 is firmly fitted into this shaft hole 15.

A press member 18 with a bearing 20 fitted into its center hole 19 is movably set on eccentric cam 13 by means of bearing 20.

The press member 18 has around its circumference an arcuate depression 21 opposite a part of the outer circumference of each of said fingertips 6 arranged in positions 8 to 12 for the insertion of the thumb and the other fingers. The tip of the projection 22 between each two adjacent arcuate depressions 21 is rounded, and these rounded tips find themselves roughly in a circle.

A selector switch 23 and a capacitor 24 are connected by common wiring to a power outlet and the motor 16.

The machine according to the present invention operates in the following manner: As the selector switch 23 is closed to start the motor 16, the eccentric cam 13 begins to turn with eccentricity, causing the press member 18 to operate in crank motion with the eccentricity B. As a result, each arcuate depression 21 on the circumference of the press member 18 rhythmically pushes with a twist a part of the circumference of the fingertip 6 to which said depression 21 is opposed. Made of an elastic material, each finger tip 6 recovers as soon as it loses contact with the arcuate depression 21., thus shrinking and expanding repeatedly. All five fingers or any desired set thereof inserted into said arrangement of fingertips 6 are kneaded rhythmically so that their muscles are relaxed and their blood circulation stimulated, with the result that fatigue is relieved. The optimum frequency of such finger kneading depends somewhat on the particular individual treated, but generally may be around cycles per minute.

As has been explained in the above paragraph, the machine according to the present invention uses separate fingertips of an elastic material, each of which is pressed with a twist from without on a part of its circumference by a presser operating in crank motion. This compression of the fingertips, coupled with their elastic recovery, rhythmically kneads the fingers inserted into the fingertips so that said fingers are relaxed and stimulate the blood circulation, with the result that fatigue is relieved.

Moreover, each fingertip used in the machine according to the present invention is separate and made of an elastic material, and the compression and expansion of the fingertips is based on the crank motion of a presser and the elasticity of the fingertips themselves. Hence, the machine is relatively simple in construction, easy of operation, and durable in service.

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this particular machine and that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

lclaim:

l. A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers comprising:

a. a casing (1) with an inner wall;

b. a plurality of elastic fingertips (6) disposed in a somewhat arcuate path along said inner wall;

c. a stationary arcuate depression section (7) along said inner wall; and,

d. a movable arcuate pressure member (18) in said casing disposed to act on said fingertips (6) so that they are compressed and allowed to expand alternately by a rhythmic reciprocating motion of said movable arcuate depression toward and away from said stationary arcuate depression.

2. A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers according to claim 1, wherein said stationary arcuate depression section has depressions formed on the inner wall of the cylindrical casing of the machine and said movable arcuate pressure member has depressions which are provided on the outer circumference of an eccentric cam.

3. A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers according to claim 2, wherein said eccentric cam is mounted eccentrically on the rotary shaft of an electric motor and has said pressure member mounted movably around said cam by a bearing.

4. A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers according to claim 1, wherein said fingertips are arranged in the top cover of the machine casing so that all five fingers of a hand can be inserted into said fingertips simultaneously.

5. A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers according to claim 1, wherein each of said fingertips is wholly made of an elastic material such as rubber and tapered so that its inner diameter at the lower end is a little smaller that that at the top. 

1. A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers comprising: a. a casing (1) with an inner wall; b. a plurality of elastic fingertips (6) disposed in a somewhat arcuate path along said inner wall; c. a stationary arcuate depression section (7) along said inner wall; and, d. a movable arcuate pressure member (18) in said casing disposed to act on said fingertips (6) so that they are compressed and allowed to expand alternately by a rhythmic reciprocating motion of said movable arcuate depression toward and away from said stationary arcuate depression.
 1. A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers comprising: a. a casing (1) with an inner wall; b. a plurality of elastic fingertips (6) disposed in a somewhat arcuate path along said inner wall; c. a stationary arcuate depression section (7) along said inner wall; and, d. a movable arcuate pressure member (18) in said casing disposed to act on said fingertips (6) so that they are compressed and allowed to expand alternately by a rhythmic reciprocating motion of said movable arcuate depression toward and away from said stationary arcuate depression.
 2. A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers according to claim 1, wherein said stationary arcuate depression section has depressions formed on the inner wall of the cylindrical casing of the machine and said movable arcuate pRessure member has depressions which are provided on the outer circumference of an eccentric cam.
 3. A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers according to claim 2, wherein said eccentric cam is mounted eccentrically on the rotary shaft of an electric motor and has said pressure member mounted movably around said cam by a bearing.
 4. A machine for relieving the fatigue of fingers according to claim 1, wherein said fingertips are arranged in the top cover of the machine casing so that all five fingers of a hand can be inserted into said fingertips simultaneously. 